Children of The Veil
by Val'Aishlym
Summary: Corypheus is dead and the threat passed – or so they thought. It was found out that the start and cause of the horrendous acts on Thedas was elven in nature, leading to the start of a genocide of the elven race. Now there is a new dangerous threat, mayhaps even more so than Corypheus had ever been. -Full Summary Inside- MxM, FxM
1. Giant Bull?

**Char: Male x Male (Pairings are Surprise). Female x Male (Pairings are surprise)**

**Summary: Corypheus is dead and the threat passed – or so they thought. It was found out that the start and cause of the horrendous acts on Thedas was elven in nature, leading to the start of a genocide of the elven race. Now there is a new threat, mayhaps even more so than Corypheus had ever been. With the Inquisitor dead, and most of the Inquisition either killed or held captive, what hope does Thedas have in combatting the new slew of demonic forces entering their world. **

**Children of The Veil**

**Giant Bull?**

_Be careful_. He had said.

Crimson eyes narrowed as the owner of said eyes pressed against stone wall, feeling the coldness bleed into his dark clothing.

_Be silent_. He had said.

He slowly slinked down the hall, using the darkness as a cover.

_Don't be seen._ He had stressed.

With a slow exhale, he flung himself from one side of the hall to the other, the tails to the scarf wrapped around his neck and mouth trailed behind him as he ducked from one shadowy corner to the next. His light leather boots made no sound as he continued to slide down the hall with light steps.

There was an artifact in this fortress that they had needed. It was too heavily guarded for all of them to go along so he went in alone. He was quieter, he was more cautious, he was more nimble – he was perfect for the job. He could kill without a sound and move without being detected. He prayed that the fortress didn't have any Mabari. If they did, he was done for. The hounds would sniff him out in a second.

_Mythal be with me. _

He sent a silent prayer before he slunk even farther into the fortress. He pulled a crystal from his pocket. It was similar in looks to solid lyrium, but it was green. This is what they used to seek out the artifacts they needed.

After the world had gone to shit and back, elves were the new target. He was a little surprised but at the same time he wasn't. He'd thought after one of his People saved the world, they'd be more grateful and accepting to the elven kind.

No.

They were _everything but_ kind and accepting. They only seemed angrier, more bloodthirsty. It'd gotten so bad, the humans would actually _go out of their way _to find elven settlements and destroy them. He was glad that most of the ancient elven ruins were too intimidating for them to go near – something about angry ancient spirits and curses.

He put the crystal away with a slight frown. There were no pulsations so the artifact wasn't anywhere near him. He'd have to go deeper in. A slew of elvhen curses was released from thin, pale lips. He had to force down a small bubble of a laugh – if Noah heard any of which had passed his lips, the elder elf would never let him hear the end of it.

As he made it to the end of the hall, he peered around the edge of the wall where light spilled in from lit torches. He cursed and abruptly pulled himself back. There were dozens of humans in the next room over.

What exactly was in here that the humans were protecting? Were they even protecting something? Were they bandits?

A growl startled him, causing him to tense. Was that a Mabari? The silver haired elf looked back down the hall. It was empty. "Fucking bastards!" He jumped again. He slowly peered back around the wall. There was a large….thing in the midst of the humans, growling and cursing at them. It was completely bloody and it looked as if one of its horns were chipped. The skin of the creature was tinted purple – he looked a little less for ware. Being that large and looking like a skeleton was….it made it look even more painful than it probably was.

It was chained by its arms down to the ground. The room they were in was similar of sorts to a grand hall but where it lacked the grandiose décor, it made up for it in torture equipment: Spiked chains, spiked whips, different sizes of knives, a chair with straps – these humans always accused elves of being cruel, but look at them now!

Was that a baby dragon they were kicking?

The elf's eyes narrowed. He bit his lip contemplating on what to do next. Should he save the creature? Should he keep on? A pulsation from the crystal answered that for him. The artifact was in _that _room with all the humans. How the hell was he going to get in there and out without being seen? They were all over the place!

"I haven't seen this much fire from him since we killed the elf thing in front of him!" one of the humans laughed. The elf in the shadow's expression darkened.

"What about when we killed the guys that were a part of his little group? What'd they call themselves? Bulls?" The humans around him laughed as they threw another kick at the giant's side.

"I especially enjoyed killing the elf thing," the human purred. "She was a _fighter_!" He let his foot fly into the giant's side again.

"Who would have thought the Inquisition was just there to clean up the mess _they _had created. Stupid fucking knife-ears," another kick to the side.

Insult after insult spilled from each of the humans, causing the elf in the shadows to grow angrier and angrier. He couldn't follow word for word of what they were saying, but he knew enough that the derogatory words cut deep. After the giant let out one final loud shout and fell silent, the elf knew it was time to make his move.

He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly. The elf invoked several elven pantheons before he slowly faded away.

…

..

.

He was ready to sign over to his fate. He was going to die here. He wasn't all too caring about humans and their issues until now. They'd gone to the extreme now. Blaming everyone but themselves. Yeah, the elves created powerful relics, but all the years they'd had them you never read about them trying to take over the fucking world. Now a human gets their hands on the relics and uses for stupid reasons – using it for something it was _not _created for and instead of owning up to the stupidity of humans, they pit all on someone else.

They blamed the elves for their problems, they blamed the elves for their stupidity, and they blame the elves for their greed. He was seriously fed up with all their bullshit and if he ever got out of this mess, he would personally tear their bodies apart, piece by piece with his bare hands.

With a growl, he went to push himself up off the ground but stopped short when he heard cries. He snapped his head up suddenly to see the last of the human guards dropping dead around him. "What the fuck?" he questioned loudly. Someone suddenly began to materialize in front of him and his eyes widened. "W-Wh ...But-but-but!"

"Oh. You talk." How was this possible?

"How!? I saw you die!" the elf in front of him looked startled.

"I…died?"

"YES!" The giant man cried. The elf took a step back from him, frightened. The giant man took a calming breath before he held his hands up. "You think you can get me out of these, boss?" he grunted, lifting his hands and rattling the chains around. The elf looked around slowly before he looked back at the giant and pointed at himself. The giant snorted. "No, the elf behind you," after he said that, he laughed when the elf suddenly spun around. The elf turned back towards him, crimson eyes wide. He slowly approached him before kneeling down and picking the lock on the chains.

After he was free, the giant massaged his wrists, grunted, and stood. The elf stared up, eyes wide in awe. The giant towered over him. "I-I-" The elf swallowed audibly, causing the giant to raise an eyebrow.

"You okay there, Boss? Coming back make you lose your memory? It's me, The Iron Bull, remember?" the elf wasn't responding, making Bull's frown deepen. What was wrong with him?

A sudden pulsation made the elf gasp, spinning around. There it was. On the table to the far back where bloodied knives lay, it was the artifact. It was a glowing green orb sitting on a stand with a curved bar holding it in place.

"There!" Bull and the elf snapped their gazes to the entrance of the room. There were at least a dozen guards making their way in.

"Shit…" Bull stepped in front of the elf, which puzzled said elf. Was the giant protecting him? The guards suddenly dropped dead, blood gushing from their necks. Bull's eyes widened and he turned to look at the elf who was putting away knives. "Well that has to be a new record on how fast you kill someone – wait…where is your bow?" the elf was giving him an odd look.

The elf made his way over to the table and lifted the globe into his hands.

"Isn't that one of those elven artifacts Solas used to always go on about activating?"

"Here," the elf was handing him keys. "I heard others in the cells. Your friends, right?" The elf was staring up at him.

"You…What's your name?"

"Da'Saeya." The elf smiled behind his mouth covering. "Stay out of trouble, ma falon." The elf saluted him before he dashed for the exit. Bull frowned, turning just in time to catch the long cord of silver hair disappear out the room.

…

..

.

Da'Saeya made his way out of the fortress, clearing a path through human guards for the giant he'd met earlier. With only a couple of cuts and bruises, he made it out of the building entirely to be greeted by a tall, furious looking black haired elf and a smaller elf standing behind him with her hands clasped together. The taller of the two was wearing thin, heavy armor with a heavy elven persuasion. His chest plate was copper, straight over his shoulders with a short cloth just sitting over it. There was a large sword strapped to the elf's back

Behind him, the female stood wearing plain elven robes. She held a staff between her clasped hands, the tip of which sung with electric currents. Her black hair was up in two thick, long tails that trailed over her shoulders.

"What were you thinking?" The taller elf shouted.

"Noah-" He was cut off as the taller elf grabbed him by his shoulders.

"Do you understand how worried I was when I saw the shemlens start running back inside? I know that you were capable of going in there and coming out without being seen! Why were you so reckless?"

"I…met a giant bull?" Da'Saeya asked weakly. Noah's expression blanked as he stared at the shorter elf. He let go of him and turned.

"….Let's go…." He grumbled lowly. The elven mage was giving him a curious look.

**-End Notes: All three of the main characters are my lavellans from previous play-throughs of the game. Except one - but that'll be addressed later on. If you're curious as to how they all look the links are on my profile.**


	2. Ribbons

**Char: Male x Male (Pairings are Surprise). Female x Male (Pairings are surprise)**

**Ch sum: delves slightly in the past of Sara, Saeya, and Noah Lavellan.**

**Children of The Veil**

**Ribbons**

It'd been a couple hours since their escape from the fortress, if the coloring of the sky was any indication. Noah led them with the artifact held in his hands. Sara walked closely behind him with Saeya bringing up the rear, his hands folded behind his head.

They were heading back to their somewhat-permanent-temporary camp. It was in the ruins of an old abandoned Quarry. It was said to be haunted by _angry_ _elven_ _spirits_ – which was a plus. It meant no shemlens would ever go near it. Of course, it was empty with no spirits in sight.

That could have been either because there never was anything there or the ancient stories revolving around the artifacts they gathered were true.

Da'Saeya brought his gaze skyward. It was said that the artifacts strengthen the veil in the area it was activated in. This lessened the likelihood of a demon or spirit encounter.

That or, again, there was never anything there and it was another story the Dalish had gotten wrong. Da'Saeya snorted.

Dalish.

"What's on your mind?" Da'Saeya brought his gaze down to see Noah looking at him over his shoulder. Da'Saeya shook his head. With a simple nod, Noah turned his gaze back forward and Da'Saeya turned his gaze back skyward.

The Dalish thought they were preserving their long forgotten past. Passing down from lip to ear, the stories of their past – what they thought were their past. They'd gotten stories wrong, changed stories around, made it benefit them. They were construed in such a way, it always made the elven kind into victims and shems their terrorizers. They victimized themselves instead of learning from past mistakes. Of course, the elves can't entirely blame their path of destruction on themselves, nor can they put the blame entirely on shems. It was a sort of mix between the two to blame for the downfall of the elven kingdom.

He was no scholar – he lacked the patience to sit down to stare at text for hours on end and he lacked the concentration needed to study the fade – but he was pretty sure they'd gotten most of their stories wrong.

"There are bandits ahead….2 of them are mages…." Sara's soft voice cut through his thoughts.

Good.

He was itching to kill something. Creators knew Sara wouldn't allow him to take out his pent up aggression on a tree….he'd rather the tree but a bunch of shemlen bandits would also do….it'd also make Noah less grumpy. He seemed to be at his happiest when he was thrusting that giant ass sword of his through the flesh of anything human.

The thought scared Saeya and he was pretty sure it terrified Noah himself.

Saeya unclipped his daggers from his side, curling his fists around the thick brass of the handle. He brought the hooped blade up, staring at his reflection in the blade. Why were the shems so close to their camp, though, Saeya had to wonder. Their camp was _supposedly haunted _so no one should have any purpose or interest in coming near.

"Strange…" Saeya brought his attention to Sara and Noah. Noah had handed the artifact to Sara. He needed both his hands to swing around his great sword, whereas Sara could manage and cast deadly spells with just one hand – she actually didn't even need her hands but she said it was easier to aim and concentrate magic when she used her hands or a staff as a conduit. "They are gone."

"Maybe the stories about angry elven spirits was right?" Saeya asked with a shrug. He didn't put his weapon away; however. Noah shrugged.

"Or….maybe our friend is as fond of humans as we are," a devilish smirk graced Noah's usually stoic face. Saeya and Sara exchanged looks.

Yeah, they distrusted humans – they didn't like them but they didn't hate them.

Noah was a different story. He loathed them with such a fiery passion, he most likely burnt from it. Whenever there was even a slightest bit of hints of Saeya or Sara giving them praise – no matter if it were just sarcastically spoken – he would become angry. He would glare at them, scold them, and then lecture them both on 'the whys' and 'the hows' that the humans were terrible creatures best to be killed or avoided.

He sounded like their former keeper... He almost sounded like the humans when they gave their speeches on why the elven kind should be eradicated.

When he was done yelling at them for a good hour, they both would respond with 'Yes hahren. Sorry hahren' which usually knocked him down a few angry pegs. He would still be glaring, but there would be a calm sadness about him afterwards. He'd turn away and say nothing farther.

"Only one way to find out, huh?" Saeya asked, twirling one of his daggers around.

"Stay behind me, but not too far." Noah still had his blade out. It's a wonder how he wields it so easily and it was damn near the same height as him. Saeya and Sara gave him understanding nods as the older elf led the way.

Noah had been one of those charged with the protection of the clan. He rarely did scout work, but he was a guardian. Their clan had grown restless as the amount of mages within their ranks increased. When Sara's magic had come to the fro, they were going to send her off on her own. Noah had been disgusted and angry with their decision to cast a bunch of kids to the wind because they were afraid of some shemlen group of warriors. Granted, their fear was understandable. They'd already had a run in with the shemlen group. They'd managed to come to an agreed terms – one that brought a sick feeling to Saeya.

The Templar group had told them they would allow them 3 mages. Saeya's brother hadn't been one of those fortunate enough to keep their magic. Those not fortunate along with him became tranquil. Saeya shivered as he felt the familiar warm and fuzzy feeling he got when a barrier slithered over his person. He looked up to see Sara glancing sideways at him with a small smile. "You did that," She mumbled. Had he? It didn't hurt like it usually does. Her smile became sad. She hadn't been around when it happened – when his brother became tranquil and he was left with his magic. She was around but she was too young to understand at that time.

She'd once asked him why he never practiced his magic. It was a sore topic for obvious reasons. Noah had had to explain to her why and to never bring it up around him.

Practicing magic wasn't only physically painful, but emotionally too. It brought back the memory of witnessing his mother dying in flame magic, his father tortured with storm magic, and his brother painfully stripped from his spirit magic.

Saeya had a lot of reasons to hate the shems, though, he found that he couldn't hate all of them. Maybe it was just not in his nature to hate things without having met or seen them. Maybe if he had the experiences Noah undoubtedly had, he would loath the shems like he did. Whatever those experiences were… Noah never liked to talk about his experiences. He'd brush off questions and tell them to trust him on his word. He never questioned Noah's words, but sometimes his judgments were a bit questionable.

They came up on the ruins of the quarry to see bodies littered everywhere. The bodies were charred to nearly no recognizable forms. "Damnable humans." A snort brought there gazes up to the one who spoke, sitting atop one of the high broken walls surrounding the wooden stairs down the quarry. The woman sitting there wore nothing but ribbons to hide her nude form. The simple yellow ribbon weaved around her body leaving little to the imagination. She had long crimson hair that reached to her middle back. Her bangs hung low on her face, covering her eyes and just brushing the tip of her nose. Two pale horns peaked from her mop of red hair, though one of them was broken. She was smirking.

Ira.

She was some sort of spirit or creature – she never revealed what she was – that had been helping them locate the artifacts. She'd even given them the crystal to help them in their endeavors.

"I do believe it's about time we find a…safer place to store our wares." She chuckled. She had thick Orlesian accent.

"Ira, how did they find out about this place?" Sara asked with a frown. Ira laughed.

"They did not simply _find out, _my dear. They simply happened upon us by chance – unlucky as the fate was, of course." She was giggling as she jumped down from the wall. "It is about time we head off to that place I had been showing you." Both Saeya and Noah frowned in confusion. They looked to Sara who smiled and nodded. She turned to them.

"Ira has been leading me through the forest in my dreams. We found a place abandoned by the humans. It is a quiet little place – however it is in the middle of Fereldan." Saeya and Noah slowly exchanged looks. They weren't exactly sure how that would work out. "Some catastrophic happened there…but it was strange…Ya-Ya." She regarded Saeya with a confused look. "I saw…someone who looked exactly like you…I believe it was your brother." Saeya tensed.

"Really?" Noah stepped closer.

"Maybe if we go there you can probably see where he went next? Maybe we can find him! Maybe he's alright!" Saeya's eyes lit up with hope.

"Doll, that place has been abandoned for years. I'm doubtful-" Ira stopped at the stricken look that crossed Saeya's face and the angry look on Noah's face. Noah placed a firm hand on Saeya's shoulder.

"Don't worry." Noah simply said. Saeya looked up at the slightly taller elf. He nodded weakly before they all turned their attention to Ira. "What do we do now, Lady Ira?"

"None of that, my dear." She chortled. "Ira is just fine. I did happen to find something deeper in the quarry; however." She motioned for them to follow her. They followed her down to the first landing below the ground. They didn't ordinarily stay on landing because it was too close to the opening and they were too open for attack there. They'd go to the third landing where they could prepare for an attack. There was a pile of clothing on the table and weapons. "The charcoal you saw up there wasn't the first wave of freeloaders." She smirked.

"These…are you sure they'll fit?" Saeya asked as he picked up a dark green tunic.

"I didn't say the first few waves were all human, did I?" They all looked at her in alarm, causing her to laugh. "Worry not, my darlings. I did not kill them – rather I traded with them. I knew you three would need better armor then you have now. I enchanted them so they'll be more useful to you then the rags you have on now."

"This is generous of you," Sara smiled. Ira grinned.

"I have to take care of my children, don't I?" She laughed loudly, the melodious echo bouncing around the stone walls.

…

..

.

Saeya wrapped the leather band around the long cord of his hair one last time before letting go. He smoothed down the tunic, letting his hands run across the eloquent, gold embroidery of the tunic. He played with the silver claps that ran across his chest and under the black scarf he wore. Letting his hands trail down again, he tightened the belt around the tunic before allowing his hands to trail farther down to the black trousers he wore. They were puffed out slightly at the thighs then became tight right under his thighs. Sara had giggled a bit at them but Saeya liked them.

Sara's outfit was a simple blue robe. The trim of her robes was chrome blue while the rest a shade between light and sky blue. The upper part of her robes were a dark shade then the lower part. The color of her detached sleeves were the same color as the upper robes.

Noah's armor seemed to look the same, though heavier. He had a chest plate now too.

"You all look dashing!" Ira squealed as she floated around them. This was why it was so hard to tell what she was. At some points, she looked like a horned elf but when she floated like that, it made her seem like she was some sort of elf spirit or demon. "Oh, yes! Before I forget! Da'Saeya, my dear," Saeya looked up from fiddling with his throwing knives. "May I see that crystal?" Saeya nodded and handed over the crystal they'd been using as a detector. She allowed the crystal to levitate between her hands. The crystal glowed briefly before it slowly split and became balls of energy. "I'd been thinking a bit on this. This'll help if the off-chance you are split up." She flicked her fingers and both orbs suddenly flew and smacked Noah and Saeya in the forehead. They both gasped, smacking a hand to their heads.

"Ow!" Saeya whined. "What did you do that for?" Ira smirked.

"Now you don't need the crystal! You are the crystal, in a sense." She giggled. She took the artifact from Sara, making it glow. The form of the artifact became completely white before it disappeared completely. A shudder went notably through her as she sighed. "I do dislike doing that." She mumbled. She suddenly clapped. "Now, off we go!"

"What about Sara?" Saeya asked, still rubbing his forehead. He didn't like the tingly feeling it left. It almost felt like fire…

"She can already feel the magical pulses the artifacts give off!" She chuckled. "If you would have just allowed me to mentor you with your magic-"

"No!" It came out harsher than he intended it to. Ira pursed her lips but said nothing.

"So…" Noah cleared his throat, cutting through the tense silence they had suddenly been thrust into. "Which direction are we heading in?"

"South." Sara said with a warm smile.

"Keep on towards the place." Ira's voice was suddenly serious. They all looked at her with a frown. "No matter what happens. If you get separated, keep towards South. That will be your rendezvous point."

"What is this place?"

"The humans called the place Haven."

"Haven?" Ira smiled. She held her hand out, handing Sara a necklace.

"Keep this with you, darling." She said quietly before she faded away.


	3. Tel'Enasalin

**Char: Male x Male (Pairings are Surprise). Female x Male (Pairings are surprise)**

**ch sum: ****Ir abelas...Tel'enasalin ma lethalin...ma lethalan. Ir suledin nadas...Falon'Din...Ma ghilana mir din'an...**

**Children of The Veil**

**Tel'Enasalin**

Noah, as usual, led the troupe in front. Technically, he didn't lead. Sara steered him to the right path from time to time but otherwise stayed silent. They should have waited to travel when it was light out but Noah had said it would be better to leave at that moment. "We should camp here." Sara said quietly. Noah turned to look at both Saeya and Sara. The two were dragging behind him slightly. He could tell the two were exhausted.

"Alright." He mumbled.

Noah sat close to the stacked sticks, striking rocks. It would have been easier if they were to light it with magic, but Noah didn't like fire magic. He didn't like it for the same reason as Saeya, of course. He didn't like it because Saeya didn't like it. When Sara had questioned him about it, he didn't really give a straight answer. He just said he didn't like anything that brought them pain – them being Sara and Saeya. Both the younger elves sat on a fallen log next to each other. Saeya was counting the number of healing herbs and rations they had left while Saeya was taking inventory of his throwing knives.

Saeya and Sara turned their gaze to Noah when it went silent. The older elf had stopped clicking the rocks together but hadn't lit the fire. He was looking up at the trees. "Noah-"

"Shh." Noah stood, his back tense. Saeya reached for his daggers. "Can you not hear that? Laughter." Saeya looked to Sara who took on a look of concentration.

"…there are about two dozen armed men. They're not moving closer nor farther so I assume they are camped…"

"Two dozen?" Saeya asked warily. "Are they human?"

"I can't tell…" Sara frowned. They both looked to Noah. Noah turned to see the two waiting for him to make the next step.

"We can't stay here, they may discover us." Noah crossed his arms. "There is too many of them for us to take on – especially given how dark it is getting. We move away. We'll take turns on watch." Saeya and Sara nodded.

…

..

.

A couple of hours later found them in the cover of the forest instead of a cleared field. Saeya sat somewhat comfortably in a tree with Noah and Sara at the base of the tree. He'd been sleep just a few minutes ago and he wasn't sure why he'd awaken. He looked down to see Sara and Noah leaned against each other fast asleep. What had woken him up?

_Crunch…_

That. Saeya tensed. Crunching and low mutterings. It was getting louder and closer. Saeya let a string of elven cussing pass his lips, which seemed to wake Noah for when Saeya looked back down, Noah was glaring up at him. His glare seemed to dissipate when he noticed how tense Saeya was. Saeya jumped from the tree and landed as quietly as he could. The displaced air caused Sara to jump and stare up at him in confusion. "We need to go." Saeya whispered. The laughter was getting louder. They were almost upon them. Noah and Sara abruptly stood.

"Which way are they coming from?" Noah asked.

"Well isn't this our lucky day?" The three froze. It was too late, they were there. Noah spun around, drawing his blade. Sara had been wrong. It was more than two dozen! What where they all doing out here like this?

"Prize ripe for the taking," another of the men had chuckled. The one that stood at the front of the men wore heavier armor then the rest. He looked to be a defender with a heavy wall shield held in his hands and a sword strapped to his side. The two standing on either side of him held mauls with blood thirsty grins on their faces.

There was no way they were going to get out of this without blood being spilt. Noah glanced behind him and noticed both Sara and Saeya had gone missing. Not missing, but both had faded out of sight.

Good.

"If I fall, run." Noah said. He had spoken it loud but in the elvhen tongue. He knew that the two younger elves would know what he meant. Noah pointed his sword at the two on either side of the defender. "Die." He growled, his eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, the two men dropped dead, blood spraying from their necks. The defender took a step back, as did the rest of the troops. "What the fuck?!" They all shouted different variations to express their fear mingled shock.

"How did he do that?" They all took up arms, but only 4 rushing at Noah. Noah took a step back before charging at them as well. At the last minute, he slid to a stop and skirted to the side, swinging his sword up and knocking one of the men off his feet. The others around him suddenly froze, their body becoming incased with ice. Noah took the chance and swung his sword at them, causing their frozen bodies to burst into bloodied pieces.

"What the fuck is he?" there was another cry. Blood sprayed from the troops necks as Noah flicked his hand at each one of them. He growled as an arrow caught him in the shoulder. He hadn't even noticed they had archers. As soon as he glowered at the archer, he was dead – a long gash across his throat causing his death.

"Don't let him point to you!" The defender yelled out, taking on an attack pose. He tensed his back and ran at Noah just as Noah was bringing his blade down on one of his men. The large sword bounced off the shield, leaving Noah opened to the man coming up behind him. Noah managed to twirl his body around, the blade just glancing off his chest plate.

He held his sword up and backed away from the large group. He did a mental calculation. They'd just killed eight of the men. He did a head count as he continued to back away and cursed. He'd counted at least 20 more heads and a lot of them wore thick helmets. Saeya wouldn't be able to get through the armor to kill them easily. He'd have to kill them himself.

"Die, you dirty elf!" the man to his right yelled. He came running in towards Noah, his sword drawn back. Noah brought his sword up to meet the man's but the man to his left took that as an opportunity to run at him too. Noah managed to pull his sword away from the one on the right to meet the one on the left but the defender decided to make his presence known. He used his shield and ran at Noah again, causing the elf to be flung backwards off his feet.

"_Fenedhis_!" Noah cursed.

"Noah!" Noah's gaze quickly snapped to Sara who had come out of her fade cloak. The troops surrounding Noah had turned to look at her as well, giving Noah the chance to quickly stand and swing his sword to behead them. Blood sprayed from the beheaded bodies as they dropped to the ground.

The deaths had caught the attention of the defender again who had growled and turned on Noah again. "So this is how you've been doing this, huh? You're not as alone as we first thought." Two more gurgled deaths made Noah smirk. They were down to at least 15 more heads. Saeya appeared next to him with a frown. There was blood on his side – and it _did_ belong to him. Someone had managed to hurt him. Sara looked like she was ready to faint.

They hadn't had proper rest nor had they eaten properly in a while. She wouldn't be able to keep up casting spells and Saeya's usually graceful moves were sluggish – looked pale in the face. He turned to where the younger elf had been looking and cursed. There were more of them coming in. This wasn't just some small band of wandering shems. They'd run into an army. He glanced to his side when Sara came up to him. She looked scared out of her mind.

"Run." At this rate, they would all die.

"What?" Saeya looked at Noah in alarm.

"Run. Go to where Ira told you to go."

"Wait…just…no!" Sara cried. "We're not going to leave you! If we keep working together we'll-"

"All die!" Noah hissed, turning on Sara. "Saeya, take Sara and go!" Saeya hesitated. "GO!" after the shout, Saeya grabbed Sara's arm and tugged her into the brush. Noah intercepted their would-be pursuers by swiping his sword at their faces. They jumped back before going at Noah. Noah managed to kill the two but had suffered a long gash on his arm. He could barely hold his sword anymore. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

He had to keep them distracted long enough for the two to get away. "Damn, knife ears!" Noah cried out as he was flung backwards again by the defender. This time his body rolled across the ground a few times before he stood back up. He felt blood soak through the sleeves of his under clothes.

They fell into a dangerous dance. The other troops, Noah had noticed, stopped interfering. He'd thrust his sword at the defender and the defender would take the attack's momentum and use it against Noah, knocking him off balance. After his balance was unchecked, the defender would take a swipe at the elf. If the elf happened to dodge, he would bring in another attack. If he wasn't….it was added to the growing pile of both shallow and deep gashes.

The defender rushed at him again. Noah brought his sword up but the defender knocked it out of his hand with a simple hard outward thrust of his shield. Noah backed up a step as the defender twirled his sword around in his hand.

The elf heard the jeering laughter of the troops around him. There was no way in hell he was going down that easy. When the defender came rushing at him again, Noah rolled out of the way just before the shield got to him and grabbed up one of the blades of the dead soldiers littering around them. Noah held one hand out as he gripped the single handed blade with his other.

He was adept in one-handed combat. He just preferred the raw power that came with 2handed weapons. He only wished he had a shield for better defense. "I've never seen a knife-ear wield a blade longer than his hand." The defender sneered.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that was a compliment." Noah smirked. The defender growled.

"Guessing that means you _don't _know better, dirty rotten elf!" The defender rushed at Noah. The elf used the sword to deflect the defender's sword. "You know if you give up now, I promise your death will be painless. I'll look over the fact you killed some of my good men."

"Ah. That was your best? I guess I have nothing to worry from you then?" Noah's smirk widened. The defender snorted.

"I said good men. I didn't say the best, now did I? For such large ears, your people know not how to listen."

They fell into another dangerous dance. The defender would rush the elf, the elf would skirt away. The defender would use his sword, the elf would either deflect with his sword or skirt away. Noah was beginning to tire. He was breathing harder now and his vision was beginning to swim. He wasn't going to last much longer now. He had to find a way to get out of this mess with his life. Sara and Saeya needed him.

"Those two elves that were with you – they were mighty pretty." Noah's tensed. His eyes narrowed. "I was thinking – once I'm done with you, we could use them as morale boosters instead of killing them." Noah growled.

"You will not touch them!" Noah shouted. He thrust his blade out, managing to knock the defender against the head. The defender stood dazed for all of 3 seconds before he was upon the elf again.

"That's what you think," the defender snickered. "I especially liked the girl – I wonder if she's a virgin. I didn't see any of those facial tattoos on her-" The defender quickly brought his shield up to block the slash. The elf's slashes were becoming more violent and less spaced out. "I wonder if she'd scream and beg me to stop – would she do it in her own tongue or ours." The defender laughed.

Noah's eyes burned with anger. He twirled the blade once then brought it into an upward arc. That proved to be a wrong move when the defender used his own sword to deflect. The sword was forced out of Noah's hand and the defender used his shield to rush into the elf. Noah was flung backwards again and hit his back and head against a tree. He hissed in pain, forcing his blurry eyes to open. The defender was slowly walking towards him with a smirk. He hurriedly tried to scramble to his feet. He managed only that, looking around blurrily for his sword. He couldn't focus on anything, his mind in panic mood.

"Too bad you won't live long enough to see her face after I'm done it her." He laughed. He held up a sword, staring at it. "Any last words?" Noah couldn't say anything. The defender smirked before plunging the blade into the elf's stomach. Noah choked on a gasp, his eyes wide. He slowly dropped to his knees as the defender took a step back. When he dropped to his side, coughing up blood, the defender turned and walked away.

"Tel'enasalin….ir abelas…ma…lethalin…ma…lethalan…" Noah coughed. "Forgive me…"

"Just leave him be. He'll die eventually." That was the defender's voice. Noah felt his consciousness slipping away. A suffocating darkness was clawing at his psyche… "Span the area and find the other two…I wasn't lying when I said they'd be useful…"

"No…" was the last conscious thought Noah had before darkness consumed him.

**-End Notes: **_Ch summary translation: Ir abelas...Tel'enasalin ma lethalin...ma lethalan. Ir suledin nadas...Falon'Din...Ma ghilana mir din'an... = I am sorry... I have failed [you]... my cousin... my sister [implied]...i must endure...Falon'Din guide me to death._

_Fenedhis - common cuss_  
_ir abelas - i'm sorry_  
_Tel'enasalin - I have no victory/ i have failed_


	4. Falon'Din Knows When

**Char: Male x Male (Pairings are Surprise). Female x Male (Pairings are surprise)**

**ch sum: **He works in mysterious ways. Dorian and Bull enter the picture.

**Children of The Veil**

**Falon'Din Knows When**

Thick and thin branches, scratching thorns – all of it smacked him in the face as he ran through the brush. He held a hand tightly to his bleeding side while his other grasped tightly to the elven mage. He'd lost the leather strap in his hair at one point, leaving the longer part of his hair fluttering behind him. He slid to a stop suddenly, causing Sara to fall into him. "S-Saeya?" her voice was choked. "Do-Do you think they-they killed him?" she was crying. He didn't need this right now. He was in full blown panic mode. "Saeya why did we-"

"This is a dead end…" He said shakily. She pulled her wrist from Saeya and looked around his taller frame. Ahead of them was a cliff, on either side of them were mountains. They weren't close but he could see them through the tops of the trees. There was only one way back and that was the way they came and….the human army.

Sara stepped away from Saeya and looked around. Saeya ignored her for the most part as he leaned heavily against a tree. His breathing was labored, his face paler than normal. He looked down when he felt a hand lay over his own. Warmth suddenly spread out from his wound to spread across his entire body.

He jerked back away from the hand, staring at Sara.

"Don't." He grit his teeth against the sudden dizziness and nausea that had come with the sudden jerky movement.

"But you're bleeding!" Sara cried. "You-"

"You have to save your magic," He growled back.

"Y-You're going to die!" The tears were back.

"No." Saeya growled. He pulled his hand away from his wound. It still throbbed with pain but it wasn't bleeding anymore. "You stopped the bleeding."

"S-Saeya…" The two stared at each other for a while before Sara's eyes slipped closed. She leaned forward and Saeya watched as she all but collapsed against him. "Noah…"

"He'll be fine." Saeya growled. He pushed Sara up, gripped her shoulders, and glared down at her. "This is Noah we're talking about. He's stubborn and he'd never let shemlens kill him!"

"B-But…there were so many of them…" the tears were raining down her face. "W-What if-if-if…if…he…he…"

"Sara, calm down!" Saeya roughly shook the shorter elf. "He's okay, I'm sure of it." He nodded firmly. Sara wiped her face with a sniffle. She didn't look at all convinced but at least she had calmed down a bit. Sara suddenly sighed. "What is it?"

"At the off chance we'll get split up…" Sara said, pulling away from Saeya then turning her back to him. "She saw this happening…but then she said…" She turned suddenly, her eyes lit up with hope. "But….she said we use Haven to meet up! That means-!"

"Yeah…take her word and not mines – I only said the exact same thing but with actual direct words," Saeya rolled his eyes.

"He's okay!" Sara giggled.

"Sh." Saeya frowned. "We're not out of danger yet. The shems…we have to make it out of here but…" He turned towards the cliff. "We'll have to go back the way we came…"

"Not necessarily…" She mumbled. Saeya turned to look at her with a frown. "This area is familiar. I saw it when we camped for the night. There is a path that we can take that will get us down the cliff." Sara turned and pointed. "Two, actually. But one of them is dangerous. That way is the safest route but longest." Saeya pointed over his shoulder.

"What is this way?"

"A waterfall." She turned and looked up at Saeya. "That would be the quickest route but it also would be more dangerous." She was looking up at him expectantly. Was…was she waiting for him to choose which way to go?

He furrowed his brow. They always left the decision making to Noah. He was the oldest and wisest of the three. And until this incident, all his decisions had kept them safe with minimum crossings with shems. "What way would you go?"

"Me? I would go the longest route. It is because it is going the opposite way of the only large source of water. This means we'll less likely run into any danger but it also less chance of running into larger animals…." She said the last with such hesitance, he was sure she didn't want to say it at all. She knew if Noah was here, he probably wouldn't choose a path that had less animals they could hunt for food.

She hated when they had to kill – even if it meant it was for food. He knew if it was up to her, they'd only eat plants and fruit.

"Okay, we can go that way then." Saeya said with a nod. "I'm sure the other way is filled with shems….I think that might be where the shem camp is too…"

…

..

.

They'd been traveling in the direction Sara said the path was in for a little while. Sara led them while Saeya trailed behind her. She kept glancing back. Their pace had been steadily decreasing. She'd been trying to heal Saeya for most of their walk but the older elf kept snapping at her to stop. He never liked when she tried to heal him –even before all this. That was why she always tried to find an extra abundance of healing herbs.

He wasn't looking too good right now.

They'd barely gotten anywhere because he had to stop – well Sara said she wanted to catch her breath but that was only because she knew the older elf needed slight breaks but would never admit it.

She would never understand men. She sighed, rolling her eyes. Noah was the same way. He would only stop if he noticed Sara or Saeya was exhausted or if Sara spoke up. Sara always initiated their camps or rests because the older elves were stubborn. "Let's stop for a bit." Sara said. Saeya looked like he was going to keel over any minute.

"No." Sara, alarmed, looked over her shoulder at the older. He was glaring at her.

"But-"

"You're not tired. We keep walking." His glare intensified.

"I am!" Sara stopped walking, turning on him.

"You are not! We just stopped a moment ago! You only use that as an excuse to waste more of your magic on me!"

"It is not wasting magic! I'm not wasting it when it's to heal you!" Sara was glaring back again.

"You are!"

"Stop being so stubborn and let me heal you!" Sara stomped over to Saeya. The taller elf took a step back. Sara grabbed his arm, already allowing the curative magic to flow through her and through her fingers. Saeya tried to wrench his arm from her – and couldn't. That was proof enough he needed this more than he let on.

"Sara, stop!" Saeya snapped, still trying to wrench his arm away from her.

"Shut up and let me heal you, you stubborn fool!"

"Sara, stop!" His words were coming out more harsh and forceful but Sara ignored them in favor of healing him. "I said stop!" at his words, Sara felt a sudden painful spark in her hand that traveled throughout her entire body. She gasped and let go of him, stepping back. The two stared at each other. Sara in shock and Saeya in anger. His anger slowly dissipated into guilt. "S-Sorry…just…Please don't waste your magic on me…"

"…Okay…"

"Sorry…" Saeya apologized again as Sara backed away from him. She smiled sadly.

"It's okay…Just…when you get tired…please say so. You're still hurt and it'll only get worse if you push yourself…"

Sara and Saeya whipped their heads to the left to see 7 of the warriors from before. "Found them." One of them snickered. They were armored from head to toe. Saeya reached for his daggers but cursed. He'd drop them. He would have to rely on his throwing knives…and he didn't have that many left….and it didn't look like he would be able to get through their armor with the thin blades.

"Sara, what I'm about to suggest is going to sound crazy…" Saeya mumbled. Sara turned to him in alarm. "We're going to have to split up…"

"B-But!"

"I'll meet you at the bottom of the waterfall."

"ARE YOU INSANE?" She shouted. "YOU'LL DIE IF-"

"We have no other choice!" Saeya watched as the human warriors got into battle stances.

"Yeah we do! How about not splitting up?"

When one of the warriors began to charge, Saeya pushed Sara to the right "Run! If I don't make it down there by the time the sun sets, we'll meet up at the rendezvous place!" He flicked his hand forward with a painful gasp, lightning streaking from his palm. Sara's eyes widened. The warrior had jumped back in time from being struck but he had growled.

"Looks like we found the damn mage of the group!"

"Saeya-"

"Go!" another painful growl and another streak of lightning. This time the lightning struck one of the men, instantly grounding him. Sara turned and ran while Saeya ran the opposite direction.

"Split!" one of the warriors yelled. Saeya looked over his shoulder slightly and sighed in relief. 5 of them were chasing him. He knew Sara could handle the other 2 on her own.

…

..

.

He looked behind him again, instantly regretting not paying more heed to his surroundings. He tripped, tumbling a few times before stopping on his back. He stared up at the trees in a daze. He was exhausted, scared, and hungry. All he wanted to do was sleep but he knew that was impossible. He pulled his tired body up from the ground. He still felt the remnants of storm magic flowing throughout his body and it hurt. It was distracting and it hurt because it brought back memories he'd rather forget.

He'd managed to knock 2 of the warriors off their feet but that was all. His magic was nowhere near as strong as Sara's. He hoped they hadn't realized that mid chase and decide to go after Sara instead.

"Well isn't that nice, you made this all the more easier." Saeya's eyes snapped open – when did he close them? And when had he laid back down on the ground?

He stared up at one of the iron clad warriors. "If you're cooperative, I promise I'll let the other little elf go. I'm pretty sure she was the one doing all the fancy magic." Saeya froze. They knew. "So what do you say?"

"You will let her go…?" Saeya was having trouble focusing. His vision was swimming. His mind was hazy.

"Of course. You have my word as a warrior."

"Okay…" Saeya agreed faintly. His eyes had closed again. He felt himself being picked up – surprisingly not as roughly as he had expected.

"That's a good little elf. Why aren't all of your kind so reasonable?"

Reasonable…If Saeya wasn't so exhausted, he would have snorted outloud. He knew what he was doing was less than reasonable and more foolish then anything…but if there was a chance he could keep Sara out of harm's way, he would take it.

Why did that sound like something Noah would say? That was the last thought that went through his mind before he lost consciousness.

…

..

.

"Frost months are coming in…"

"…He liked the cold…." A sigh.

Iron Bull frowned, looking behind him slightly. Leave it to Dorian to kill the mood at every turn. They'd managed to escape the fortress about 2 days ago. Bull had told them it was because of an elf. He was surprised when he found that Dorian hadn't been made tranquil. He wondered if there were any Templars in the ranks of their captors.

He doubted it.

They'd established a temporary camp some ways ago. It wasn't as big as skyhold had been – hell it wasn't even the size of Haven. It was about the same size as their Hinterland camp, but slightly smaller. It was only what remained of the Inquisition – a couple dozen soldiers.

Their inner circle had been completely torn asunder with the death of the inquisitor. To this day, no one still didn't know how he even died. They just knew that with his death, everything went straight to hell. The humans got out of control, springing rumor after rumor until it came to a point where they blamed the inquisitor himself for ripping a hole in the sky and claiming the Inquisition was just a front to clean up the mess with little blame.

It was a ridiculous notion but the humans would rather believe an elf caused all the mayhem then to believe an elf saved their ungrateful asses.

Iron Bull stopped in his tracks suddenly, causing Dorian to run into him. "What?" Dorian peeked around the giant man's body. When he saw what caused the Bull to stop, his eyes brow roses.

There were bodies and blood everywhere in the area ahead of them. "I want to meet the person or persons who did this. I want to thank them." Dorian mumbled as he realized the symbol on the dead warriors was also the symbol that had held them captive. The symbol depicted an eye with an x over it.

A sudden jerky movement in the corner of his eye caught Dorian's attention. He moved around Iron Bull and pointed. He felt his fire magick push forward. "I think one of them is still alive. Joy." Dorian walked forward with Bull trailing behind him. They stopped and Dorian frowned.

"An elf….I bet he did this…fought to his last breath." Bull looked down at the skewered elf. "Still fighting by the looks of it…"

"He obviously doesn't want to die right now," Dorian mumbled absently as he saw another shudder run through the otherwise still body. He kneeled down and allowed his hand to hover over the sword. He looked over his shoulder at Bull. "You think he'll survive? Does he want to survive…"

"I'm not Cole. I have no idea." Bull shrugged. Dorian brought his full attention to the dark haired elf.

"This is going to hurt a lot…" Dorian mumbled. He raised an eyebrow as he witnessed the elf's body tense. Was he preparing himself for the pain Dorian just warned him about? Dorian gripped the sword and pulled it from the elf body. The elf's body jerked again and Dorian quickly brought his hand back over him to infuse him with curative magick. "I'm not very adapt in healing magic. The most I can do is seal the wound…" As he spoke, a shudder went through the elf's body again but he went completely still.

"Is he dead?" Bull asked after not witnessing any more movement from the elf. Dorian leaned his head over the elf's face. He held the position for a while before moving back.

"He is alive….barely…" Dorian stood and brushed himself off. "He'll likely die in the next few days if he isn't healed by a more proficient healer." Bull frowned.

"We should get him back to camp with us then. If he did all this single handedly," Bull waved his hand around at the many dead warriors. "He'll be a great asset to our numbers."

"Or lack thereof…" Dorian sighed. "He'll be useful…if….he is healed back to normal strength – whatever normal is for him. This puddle of blood is his and his only…He's lost a lot of blood," Dorian turned to look at Bull. "Few people survive that let alone recover to full health afterwards." Bull walked closer to the elf and picked him up carefully.

"…Aey…Ara…." The elf whispered it so quietly, if Bull hadn't seen his mouth move, he would have said it was just the wind.

"Pretty sure his desire for revenge would speed his recovery along if nothing else would…." Bull grumbled. He glanced at Dorian who shrugged.

"We should hurry. Time is not on his side – it is a male right?" Dorian tilted his head slightly. Sometimes he could never tell with elves. It was like they didn't even have genders. Bull shrugged, starting to walk in the direction they had previously been walking in. Dorian fell into step beside the giant, glancing at the elf cradled in his arms from time to time.


	5. Camp

** Char: Male x Male (Pairings are Surprise). Female x Male (Pairings are surprise)**

**ch sum: **What's that about a twisted veil?

**Children of The Veil**

**Camp**

He was so extremely pale, you could see his veins through his skin, Dorian noted with a slight frown. His lips were turning blue too. Where he once mumbled from time to time or made little barely noticeable jerky movements, he now lay still in Bull's arms. Dorian tried to feed more magic into the prone body, but it didn't seem like anything he did was working. The elf's body temperature was steadily dropping and his breaths becoming fainter. The changing weather was not helping in the least.

Dorian admits – he'd been hovering over the elf more than he should. For a reason he didn't want to acknowledge, he'd come to be fond of the elf. He wanted to pass it off as him just being worried for the elf's wellbeing but – that was just wishful thinking. He knew nothing about him other than the fact he was an elf – Dalish he could tell because the markings on his face. He hadn't actually been able to see them until the elf's skin took on the unhealthy coloration it had now. The markings were a pale peach in color. He wasn't sure what the markings meant because he'd never seen this type of complex design before.

He knew the Iron Bull was giving him odd looks. He'd just stare at the elf, feeling a gloomy cloud blow in. He didn't want to admit it but – if this elf died in front of him, he didn't know if he could handle that.

Currently, Bull and Dorian were sitting around a fire made by Dorian. They decided to rest for a bit – they still had a good 17 hours of travel left ahead of them and it didn't look like the elf would survive half the trip. "He's not looking too good," Bull commented needlessly.

Dorian could see that. If they didn't get to the main camp soon, the elf was surely to die. They'd be lucky if he made it through the night.

"Dorian," Dorian snapped his gaze up from the elf to look at Bull. "Stop it."

"Huh? What?" His wit failed him at this point. What did Bull mean by stop?

"You're blaming yourself. None of this is your fault. If he dies, it won't be your fault." Dorian said nothing as his gaze slowly trailed back to the elf.

Oh, he knew that. But logic failed when gloom settled in.

* * *

'You're an idiot,' light green eyes popped open to stare at the two identical figures staring down at him. They both had rounded, almond shaped crimson eyes, pale skin, rounded face, slight chub'd cheeks, and silver hair. The one to his right's silver mop of shaggy hair spilled over their shoulders while the one on the left's straight silver hair barely brushed past their chin. The one on the right was smiling while the one of the left was smirking.

'Huh?' Green Eyes asked. The twins shared a look before the one with shaggy hair chuckled.

'You fell asleep!'

'Come on!' the twins stood up straight. 'Saeya says that Keeper Istimaethoriel is looking for you!' the one on the left had pointed to his shaggy haired twin. Saeya grinned widely.

'Ya! Keeper also says that me and Lymal could tell ya! I think it's about your mamae!' Saeya smiled.

'So hurry and get up, Noah!' Lymal grumbled. 'I wanna know what she wants to say too! So when you come back you have to make sure to tell us everything she tells you, 'kay?' Noah frowned in confusion.

'What? Saeya? L-Lymal?' Noah looked between the two before blinking and rubbing his eyes. 'Where is Sara? Wa-wait, why do you look so young?'

Both Saeya and Lymal exchanged looks before staring at Noah with a frown. 'What are you talking about?' Lymal asked.

'Who is Sara?' Saeya asked.

'Saraphim…My sister…what do you mean who is she?' Noah stood abruptly, staring down at the shorter elves. 'And what the hell do you mean the Keeper wants me? She's dead!' The two looked between each other before looking back at Noah with another frown. Saeya suddenly smiled.

'Come on, Noah!' Saeya and Lymal both turned and ran off through the trees. Noah took a step after them.

'Wait!'

'Noah, don't be a slowpoke!' Their voices were echoing all around him. The scenery around him began to bleed away into darkness. Noah spun around quickly as he slowly watched everything melt away.

'Lymal! Saeya!' he shouted.

'Don't be a slowpoke, Noah!'

'Where did Noah go?'

'Did you hear that?'

'It sounds like shems! We better get going-"

'Where is Noah?'

'Noah?!'

'Da'Saeya! Val'Aishlym!'

The shouts became muddled together. Noah slowly sank to his knees, clutching his head tightly. The voices grew louder, pounding against every corner of his mind. They grew louder and louder until suddenly it all stopped. Noah slowly opened his clenched eyes. He brought his head up and saw a bright light shining from afar.

'Noah? Noah? Can you hear me Noah?' it was Sara's voice.

'Sa...ra…' A figure stepped in front of the light. It was female – it was Sara! What was she doing here – wherever here was? Was he dead? Was he dreaming? Why did he feel both pained and numb?

'Noah….if you can hear me…I'm…' the figure slowly faded away. Noah reached his hand out towards the light.

'Sa…Sara! Sa…ra!' Darkness crept at the edge of Noah's vision as he collapsed forward.

* * *

"…not sure…"

"…die?"

"…elf….wounded….death…."

He drifted in and out of consciousness. Why did he hear voices? Was he dead?

Scorching, white hot pain struck through his mind like wild, untamable storm magic. Pain…there was pain everywhere. Why was he in pain? Wasn't he dead? He had failed Saeya and Sara. He'd died…he couldn't protect them any longer…he couldn't…

He let a pained breath leave him.

"I think he's awake." The voice was deep and gruff. It cut through the heavy fog that slowly floated around his cotton-filled mind.

"Alright. Best you leave and allow me to tend to him. He will most likely be half coherent and I doubt he would be comfortable in either of your company – no offense." Two different pitches of laughter followed.

"None taken." "Understandable."

Where was he….? The last thing he remembered…was being stabbed.

Was he in a dungeon?

No…he wouldn't be on a comfortable flat surface. Was he being kept prisoner in a bedroom, perhaps? The defender….he had said something about a morale booster…everything after that was blank. He pried open his eyes slowly with a pained moan.

"Da'len, where do you ache the most?" it was spoken in elvhen. Noah blinked to allow his vision to clear – it didn't help. Colors and shapes mingled and muddled together in his vision, making him somewhat sick. When he managed a clear enough vision, he got a look at the elven woman kneeling at his side. Her skin tanned, hair pulled up into a bun, and dark eyes – he couldn't exactly tell what color they were. There was an odd coloring around her left eye in some sort of pattern – it was a vallaslin that he guessed depicted the elven pantheon Sylaise.

"…Head…" he responded back in kind. Why did his head hurt worse than his stomach…didn't he get stabbed in the stomach? "…Where…?" It was hard enough to piece together a sentence verbally, now it was getting harder to string together a coherent thought.

"Shh…Do not worry, you are safe now. Just rest yourself." Why was it suddenly dark? Had he closed his eyes? He couldn't feel his body anymore. A sudden and fearsome panic shot through his muddled mind. He couldn't move, couldn't feel anything, couldn't see…was he dying again? "Do not fear…you are safe, just rest…." He only understood half of what she said, the other half lost to his panic muddled mind.

Then everything was blank.

* * *

"There is something odd about him," Dorian and Bull looked up as the elf came out of the hut with the injured elf. They'd managed to make it to their temporary base camp without any trouble. They did; however, come to find that majority of those who were in the camp were gone. The emptiness was now mostly taken up by refugee elves. "I assume you felt it?" She was looking at Dorian.

"Yes…There is a strange sort of aura surrounding him…" Dorian frowned, crossing his arms.

"It is the veil." She stepped fully out of the hut and motioned for them to follow her. "I am not a rift mage, but even I can feel how the veil twists itself around him. I do not know if this is a good thing or a bad thing…" She frowned, staring at Dorian. "I mean…it does not feel like he is weakening it nor making it stronger. It just looks like he has a slight influence over it. Kind of like how the stories were told about the inquisitor having influence over the rifts." A pained expression fleeted over Dorian's feature. The elven woman noticed it and apologized. "I am deeply sorry for your lost, ma lethalan. It was a lost also felt over elven kind. You are not alone in your pain, remember that and your pain will not fester." She let out a little sigh.

"You said he was stabbed, correct?" She turned to regard both Bull and Dorian. They nodded. "He said most of his pain is concentrated in his head…" she frowned. "It is odd, though, I guess he has you to thank for the lack of pain in his abdomen." She was looking at Dorian again.

"Maybe he's a mage? A rift mage, I mean." Bull suggested, causing the two mages to look at him. "When we discovered him, there were ice shards everywhere. I assumed since the ice was protruding from the human soldiers, it was him who did it."

"Well," the elven woman frowned in thought.

"That could be a possibility…" Dorian mumbled. "Though, the only rift mage I've ever been so close to was Solas…and he didn't quite have an aura like the elf's," Dorian looked from Bull to the elven woman. "Did you happen to catch his name?"

"No." She frowned. "Though…when I first began to heal him, he kept whispering something about Lymal, Sara and Saeya."

"Lymal?" Both Dorian and Bull asked in alarm.

"Why? This name holds significance?" She was looking at them with interest.

"Lymal….it was what Val'Aishlym said his clan nicknamed him," Dorian looked up at Bull. "He must be a part of Val'Aishlym's clan."

"Lavellan?" The elven woman frowned. "I had heard the Lavellan clan was lost to a band of shemlens…could he be one of the few that was rumored to have survived? I must admit, I only believed them to be rumors but if what you imply is true…" She turned to look at the hut. "There are others we should look out for…this Sara and Saeya…maybe they are still out there somewhere?"

"How would we even know if they are a part of the Lavellan clan?" Dorian asked with a frown. The elven woman turned to look at him.

"The same way you would tell what family a human comes from – you ask them," She raised an eyebrow.

"You also said Saeya…That sounds like the name of the elf that helped me out," Bull frowned. "Maybe he was also with that elf and that's where all the cut up soldiers came from. I mean – when I met him, he kind of reminded me of Cole but with throwing knives." Dorian turned his attention from Bull to the elven woman.

"What clan are you from?" he asked. She smiled mysteriously.

"I am Briavera of the Sabrae clan." With that, she walked back towards the hut. She entered with the parting words: "I will be here if you need me."

Dorian and Bull exchanged looks. "What was all that about?" Bull asked. Dorian shrugged, making his way towards the center of their camp where a tent was set up.

"We might as well get to letting Cassandra know we're alive – somewhat…" He was looking over Bull's somewhat starved looking body.

"Be happy I don't eat humans." Was the only thing Bull said as they made their way towards the camp.


End file.
